This year's family beach weekend was a little crazy. Steve accepted a job transfer to Houston, and his last day in CT was the Monday after the weekend. Needless to say Steve, Kerry, and Stephanie had much going on with packing, getting their house ready for sale, and oh yah, buying a new house. The other big deal was that David and his girlfriend were coming from Germany. It had been like 4 years since he had been in the states, so it was exciting that he was coming. On top of that, we were celebrating Esta's big 6-0. So yup, there was a lot going on.

We headed down on Thursday night. we figured it would be better to get all settled in early so that we would be ready to party first thing Friday. It would also give Jacob a chance to warm up to David and the whole scene before everyone got there. As it turned out, it was definitely better than leaving the next day. It was nice to hang out with just David, Becky, and Amy. I'm not sure we ever really hung out with Amy without Frank or my parents around. It was different. Well, actually I hate to admit it, but I got hooked on "So you Think You Can Dance". Yah sad, but can I say? Anyway, I was able to get those guys to watch it with me, so as pathetic as it sounds, that was how the weekend began.....

The weekend weather was great. It was sunny and not too hot. We spent Friday out on the dock and playing in the water with the boys. They had a really good time. My father, Esta, Kenny, and Schaller joined us about lunch time. By the afternoon Frank arrived. We all had a really good time hanging out. We headed out on the kayaks when the boys went to sleep. We caught up with David and Becky who had gone out a little bit earlier. Becky had never seen the ocean, so we paddled over to introduce her. The waves were enormous! Ken went in, but the rest of us didn't have our suits on, so we stayed out of the water. Later in the afternoon, Esta and Kenny tried to dig for clams around the dock. It was a bit of a competition as Esta pulled up a few clams and Kenny did not. Kenny waded out pretty deep to get around the dock and try the other side, but it just wasn't meant to be.

Friday night we donned our cowboy hats and played a little poker. It was a pretty silly time hanging and singing cowboy songs. Steve, Kerry, and Stephanie arrived during the singing. They were pretty exhausted, but they hung out for a little w hile before hitting the hay. (Oh yes, there were many, many references to the cowboy life during the weekend.)

Donna and the rest of the kids came on Saturday. It was another great day, but a little windy. So it was not quite a beach day, but still pretty nice. In the early part of the day we headed out clamming. It was really windy out on the water. The whole paddle out I was thinking coming back was going to be a drag. I stayed out a little bit, but it was chilly so I left early. Jacob was having fun, so he stayed with Ken to dig some more. Stephanie had brought some shovels and pails, so he was having a good old time. The way back was as I had expected. Kenny was in the canoe so he was higher on the water. The wind was totally taking him, so he had Schaller and Aaron swap so that Aaron could help him paddle. Well, Schaller is pretty amazing, because he managed to paddle his kayak all the way back. I'm sure Kenny was pretty worried they were going to have to swim back with the boats in tow, but they all made it.

We did the traditional pizza meal Saturday because Steve, Kerry, and Stephanie were going to Kerry's mother's house that night. Doing the pizza thing is always fun. Both the kids and adults like making their own pizzas. This year Frank did all the cooking, so that made it even better.

Sunday was a quick day so that we could clean up and head out to the Farewell party. As hectic as I'm sure it was for everyone, it was a really good time.

Becky and Dave try out the tandem	This was the first time Becky saw the ocean	We knew it would be tough coming back, but we headed out clamming anyway.
The crazy cousins	A great family shot	Almost ready for bed
Esta was Queen of the Clams	Bampa helped Mitchell do some crabbing	Uncle Steven Helped Jacob
Cool Crab Jacob!	First we need a bucket! Tra-la-la	Then we have the Italian Fishing
Mr. Chillin!	The next bounty hunters!

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